Rejection
by statefarmsnake
Summary: Warning: Contains Tak x Tenn. Tak reflects on her failure on Earth as she slowly makes her way back to the Massive. On the way, she runs into Tenn who was doing just about the same thing.


Rejection

Tak rode her ship away from the vicinity of Planet Earth. She was still incredibly ashamed that her plan had failed so much, especially since she was up against Zim in her conquest. She knew that she had let her guard down and didn't try nearly hard enough.

"Zim's probably boasting about his stupid victory to the Tallest right about now," Tak said to herself as she brought her fist down in frustration. "Gullible, gullible Zim. Still thinks that the Tallest actually like him. I don't even know why they put up with him. If I were Tallest, I would've sent him into the sun by now. Banishment to the Earth… it's not enough for what's he done."

Tak turned to MiMi. She was still disabled after GIR took control of her remotely. "I'm sorry it had to end this way, MiMi. But I cannot reactivate you until I can repair you and manage to get you from being taken control of ever again. One of my greatest faults, and I cannot allow that to happen again."

She sighed as she looked in front of her again. She had been the queen of talking to herself for quite some time. Tak felt like she had _some_ warrant since she was isolated for so long. But she also felt so weak. The chances that the Tallest would take her back, especially with how they rule things, were second-to-none. Lose to Zim, and you're essentially at the bottom of the food chain. Tak lost.

Tak took a deep breath in… then out. She rubbed her eye once and then noticed something off in the distance. Tak looked down at her radar to make sure she wasn't just seeing things. When she confirmed it, she said, "Computer, identify the object in front of us."

"Analyzing…" the computer said in a monotone voice. "Analysis complete. Class-1 ship 4 kilometers ahead. Best identification match: irken. Owner of ship: unknown."

"Irken?" Tak asked. "Well isn't that a sight for sore eyes." She looked forward, intent on discovering the details of the ship. It was a standard Irken ship, though it was incredibly disheveled. "Looks like this one was attacked. Computer, send a transmission to the irken ship."

"The receiving ship's transmission systems are offline."

"Figures…" Tak said with a heavy sigh. "Fine. Lock onto any bio signatures in the ship. If they are all irken, then bring them aboard."

"Analyzing… 1 irken found. Energizing aboard."

There was a bright light coming from behind Tak. She turned around, only to find a disheveled irken before her. "Tenn?"

"T-tak?" Tenn said, releasing a heavy cough.

Tak got out of her chair. "It's good to see a competent irken invader for once." She went up to Tenn and examined her features. There were many scorch marks on her face and chest along with a few scars. There were small tears in her uniform and her antennae were bent in strange ways. "What happened to you?"

"I… I failed my mission," Tenn said distastefully. She coughed again, a bit of soot sitting in her throat.

"How could you have failed your mission?" Tak asked, curious. "You were one of the most intelligent invaders in the Academy. One of the heroes in Operation Impending Doom I."

"I could say the same about you," Tenn said, avoiding the question.

"It's a long story," Tak responded.

"We have a long time," Tenn said, acting smart.

"It's not important, and I'd rather not bore you will all of the details." Tak took in a deep breath, then out. "Now, my question still stands."

Tenn sighed. "Fine, I'll tell you." She crossed her arms. "Though, I can admit to myself that it wasn't entirely my fault. I was just about to succeed in my mission and the Tallest agreed that they would send me a Megadoomer."

"A megadoomer?"

"Recent technology," Tenn explained. "It's supposed to be one of the most powerful irken land machine controlled by a single user."

"Then it sounds like you had everything you need," Tak said, crossing her arms.

"You'd think that… if they actually sent me the Megadoomer." Tenn took a bit of a pause, and took Tak's silence as a sense of curiosity. "Instead, a package was sent to me that was filled with a bunch of defective SIR units."

"How defective?" Tak asked.

"To the point of no return," responded Tenn. "There were about 20, maybe 30 of them and they were all destructive. They managed to destroy my disguise and my base."

"What did the Tallest do?" Tak asked. "Though, I'd rather not ask. They sent you a bunch of SIR units and asked you to fend for yourself."

"I sent them a transmission when I was at my lowest point…" Tenn said, sighing. "The SIR units made quick work of my base, and some of the planet's inhabitants began to notice right away. When I sent them a transmission, they simply stared at me without saying a single word or sending a single ship to rescue me."

"What about your ship now?" Tak asked.

"Made up of parts that I managed to salvage," Tenn said. She looked away for a moment. "I got lucky. The SIR units for some reason deactivated all at once. Perhaps _that_ was the Tallest's doing, but I have a strong thought that's not true." She coughed again, this time more heavily. "Once I got the parts necessary, I repaired my ship so that it could just get off of the ground. All it has is light propulsion to get me through space. No weapons and no transmission. I've just been stuck here waiting to see if anyone would come to my rescue... or destroy me."

"Brutal… Well I can definitely allow you to stay on my ship," Tak said. "But I have not come from the Massive, nor do I think I will be returning right away."

"Why is that?" Tenn asked.

"It's a long story."

"We have a long time," Tenn again responded.

Tak sighed. "Fine." Tak then proceeded to tell Tenn, in detail, about her personal mission on Earth. She left nothing out, making sure to say how stupid Zim was every few sentences. She of course also added Dib and Gaz into the story.

"I imagine the two Earthlings had the most to do with my failure," Tak said. "Zim is too incompetent to contest me, and the girl…. The girl, she's special." She cleared her throat. "Shortly after MiMi was set free from being taken control by that… GIR, I realized that the plan was devised by some foolish human girl."

"That's a lot to go through," Tenn said. "You would think that the Earth would be such an easy conquest, essentially since Zim was sent there. I did get a good laugh when he showed up at the beginning of Operation Impending Doom II. It would've been more amusing if I got to see the Tallest pummel him like they should have."

"Indeed," Tak said, crossing her arms. "But that's my story. Defeated by Zim and a couple of Earthlings shortly before I completed my mission. The Tallest have yet to return my many transmissions, though that could perhaps be because the transmission systems on this ship are faulty."

"I imagine the Tallest are definitely ignoring your transmissions," Tenn said with a heavy sigh. "They seem to have a low tolerance for failure. They aren't like Miyuki or the other Tallest."

"Yes, but they are our leaders!" Tak exclaimed triumphantly.

"Maybe so, but things have changed," Tenn said. "To be a leader, one must lead. All Tallest Red and Tallest Purple is order… and eat doughnuts. It wasn't like that under Miyuki's rule."

"Yes, but Miyuki is gone, and so is Spork," Tak responded. "What do you suppose we do if we defied the Tallest and the Control Brains?"

Tenn thought for a second. After roaming in the empty bits of space for several days, it has given her plenty of time to think. To think about her mission, to think about how the Tallest have treated her, and to think about what her next course of action. After coming up with nothing, she thought of a radical solution. "Turn around."

"What did you just say?" Tak asked.

"Turn around and return to Earth."

"Why on Irk's name would I do that?" Tak exclaimed. "I just failed my mission to destroy it. I'm not just going to turn back and face defeat again. That's just lunacy."

"Well, maybe if you thought about it for a second, you'd realize what our predicament is."

"And what is that?" Tak asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"We are going to slowly make our way back to the Massive, which will take ages," Tenn explained. "The problem is, we don't even know that they're going to accept us or not. We both failed our mission."

"Yes, but your failure was out of your control," Tak said. "As was mine… in the beginning."

"Maybe so, but they just stared at me while a bunch of defective SIR units blew everything up," Tenn said, recalling the terrible experience. "I'm starting to believe that _they're_ the ones who sent those SIR units. On purpose. To destroy me and my mission."

"You really believe that?" Tak asked.

"If you sit in a destroyed ship long enough as you slowly cruise by in space, your mind starts to wander," Tenn said. "I'm not saying for sure that what I'm saying is correct, but do you really want to waste this much of your life just so you can return to the Massive and get rejected in front of your own kind. I'd rather leave with my dignity."

"Yeah, but I'd rather have my race at my side," Tak said, trying to back herself up, though it was getting harder and harder.

"You might not get a choice," Tenn replied. "But this is your ship, and it is your mindset. I will follow you no matter where you go, because you're the only thing I have left right now and I don't want to return to that destroyed ship…"

Tak sighed. She turned away from Tenn and looked at her console. She wanted to try one last thing before making her decision. "Computer, send a transmission to the Tallest on the Massive."

"Sending transmission…" the computer said. Tak and Tenn waited in silence. They wanted to hear the voice of the Tallest for once, but they just sat in silence for a few minutes. Eventually the computer cut back in and said, "Transmission cancelled. Reason: unknown."

Tak took a deep breath in and then out. "Let's go to Earth."

Tenn nodded. "We can start a new life there. You have a way to disguise yourself as a human, correct?"

Tak nodded. "I should be able to get you a decent disguise as well. It seems that this is going to be long-term thing."

"I think it's going to be a little more than long-term," Tenn said.

"Yes, but if I figure that there's an end to this madness, then I'll at least feel better."

"Well, don't you feel better that you're not doing this alone?" Tenn asked. "Imagine having to turn around to go back to the planet you were just about to conquer and end up living on it. And you do that all by yourself. That's madness."

"Yes, I do feel a little bit better," Tak said. "But that doesn't change much. I'm just glad that at least one of us is sane."

"Well, I'm hoping it's you, because I'm feeling very insane," Tenn retorted.

"It's definitely not me," Tak said. "Though, you are definitely the one who seems to bringing in a sense of logic on this ship. I've lost all hope on a sense of logic because nothing seems to make sense anymore."

Tenn placed a hand on Tak's shoulder. "Why don't we just relax, okay?"

Tak sighed and nodded. She shrugged off Tenn's hand and turned around. She looked up and down Tenn's body and asked, "When was the last time you patched yourself up?"

"Before everything started blowing up on Meekrob," Tenn said, placing a hand over a big scorch mark on her chest.

"There's a medkit in the back of the ship and a few spare uniforms that you can change into."

"Really?" Tenn asked. She thought for a moment, then nodded. "Thank you." She turned towards the back of the ship and looked for the things that Tak just described.

"You're welcome. This is going to be a long trip back to Earth, so you might as well be clean about it. No more going insane and being in pain."

"I'll take it," Tenn said as she began to undress, making sure that Tak wasn't looking.

After a day of space travel, Tak and Tenn finally return to the Milky Way Galaxy and they managed to go to Earth. "I'll find a location that's a good distance from Zim, but close enough so that we can keep an eye on him."

"Why would we want to do that?" Tenn asked.

"He has communication with the Tallest still," Tak said. "Should we ever want to try again, he'll be the way to do it."

"Hm… smart," Tenn said. "But I wouldn't mind relaxing on Earth for a little while. Not have to worry about things blowing up on my face."

"I thought you enjoyed being an invader," Tak said as she slowly lowered her ship into Earth's atmosphere.

"I did and I do," Tenn responded. "But when you go through what I did, you start to realize all of that pain and hassle it is for such a small reward in the end. Yes, we are programmed to be malicious invaders, but sometimes we need something new."

"I guess I can't blame you," Tak said.

"You've had an even worse situation than me," Tenn said.

"I will admit that, yes," Tak said. "When most of your life is ruined, and there's nothing you can do about it. All because of one incompetent Irken."

"It always leads back to Zim, doesn't it?" Tenn asked.

"Indeed."

Tenn put her hand on Tak's shoulder again. "Well, we don't have to deal with that anymore. At least… not for now."

Tak shrugged off Tenn's hand. "Why do you keep doing that?"

"Doing what?" Tenn asked.

"Why do you keep touching me? That's the fourth time you've done that so far."

Tenn looked away from Tak for a brief moment before saying, "I haven't been paying attention. I apologize if I am making you uncomfortable. I'm not trying to."

"It's not making me uncomfortable," Tak said. "It just seems so unlike you. You never liked being touched in the Academy."

"That was then, this is now," Tenn said. "Things changed since I completed the training and things changed when I left Irk. I guess you get a new perspective on life when you go to a different planet that doesn't include a race full of world-conquering invaders."

"Perhaps that's true," Tak said as she finally landed her ship and put a cloaking device around it. "I guess you could say that I have changed as well. Though, most of it is inner rage for half of my life being ruined because of Zim."

"This is why we're here," Tenn said as she activated the disguise that Tak gave her. She turned into a girl with a similar figure as Tak, though her hair was shorter and darker, and she was wearing different street clothes.

Tak changed into her general disguise as well. "And this is why we're staying until we can get back on our feet." She stepped out of her ship and began looking for a place that would be viable for a home, but Tenn latched onto her arm quickly. Tak turned around. "What? We need to be quick before we draw too much attention."

Tenn sighed. "Perhaps it can wait, then. Though, just know that I would like to speak with you once we find a place to set up base."

Tak nodded. "I see. Fine. Remind me or I'll forget."

Tenn nodded before following Tak's lead. They found a decent empty spot of land that was remote enough so that they wouldn't be bothered, but close enough to a town so that they could gather resources or information if they needed to. Tak pulled out a similar device that created Zim's home and got to work with a quick set of schematics.

A half hour later, Tak and Tenn were sitting comfortably in their home, getting acquainted with the new human lifestyle. Tak laid on a comfortable couch while Tenn got up from a chair and started pacing back and forth.

Tak got up and stared at Tenn as she walked. "What are you doing? Can't you just sit down for a minute?"

"I'm thinking. We can't just waltz onto this planet like this. People are going to get suspicious."

Tak rolled her eyes. "You have nothing to worry about, Tenn. I'll show you what Zim's disguise and house looks like. It sticks out and he's lived here for about a year with only one human boy ever noticing."

"You're not at all concerned?" Tenn asked.

"Right now? No." Tak coughed. "You must understand that the humans are far less intelligent than the Meekrob. They wouldn't be able to spot a difference in this neighborhood even if they were told first-hand."

"I see," Tenn said. "It's a good thing you've been here before then. Perhaps blending in with the inhabitants and staying here long-term will be easier than I thought."

"Yes," Tak said. "Is there something else bothering you?"

"Well, a lot of things are bothering me right now," Tenn said. "My mission was a failure, I've failed my leaders, and now I am living on a strange planet."

"This _was_ your idea," Tak said. "If you're having second thoughts, then you'd better tell me now before you start going insane on me. We now have the means of contacting the Tallest from a reliable source, so there is still time to change your mind."

"I'm not prepared to change my mind yet," Tenn responded. "I'm still convinced that the Tallest are the reason that those SIR units ended up on Meekrob."

"Then you didn't fail the Tallest," Tak said. "The Tallest failed you."

Tenn sighed. "Perhaps you're right." She sat down next to Tak and looked at her for a moment. She looked down at her hand, and almost as if instinct were controlling her, she gently grabbed Tak's hand and rested it on her lap.

"Tenn?" Tak asked.

"Yes, Tak?"

"You're doing it again," Tak said.

"I don't see you pulling away this time," Tenn said.

"Mainly because I'm curious about what you're doing."

"Funny," Tenn said as she fiddled with Tak's three fingers. "I never placed you as the curious type. And even if you were, you often solved your own curiosity with a burst of research."

"Research is knowledge," Tak said as she curled her fingers a bit before retracting them again.

"Well, what has research taught about an irken's reaction to someone touching their hand."

"It's an intrusion of privacy," Tak said. "Flick it away. Smack, or do something worse, to the offender who was stupid enough to touch you."

"Well, all I've seen you do is shrug off my hand from your shoulders a few times," Tenn said. She wrapped her fingers around Tak's hand. "Now, I see you putting in no effort to even try to stop me."

"I would never do that to you," Tak said in a calm voice. She had been doing so much yelling lately that she was almost sick of it entirely. She wondered how Zim even managed. "I'm no longer strong enough. How can I even consider myself an irken if I can't even stand up to one of my own?"

"Tak, you are irken," Tenn said as she grabbed Tak's other hand. "You've just gone through the misfortune of being rejected by so many entities." She interlocked her fingers with Tak's. "And that has changed you."

"I don't like change," Tak said.

"Well you have to deal with it," Tenn said.

"But I don't want to."

"Yeah… change is terrible," Tenn said. "But what are we supposed to do about it?"

"I don't know!" Tak exclaimed.

"Well, do _something _about it," Tenn said.

"But, what has change ever done for us?" Tak responded, her voice getting louder.

"Nothing!" Tenn yelled, her voice louder than Tak's. "Nothing at all, but we still need to do something."

"But yet, here we are! Doing nothing!"

"On a planet full of stupid humans!"

"Where the only people who accept us is ourselves."

"Change is stupid!"

As they yelled out louder and louder, they somehow felt themselves get closer and closer to each other. Each word serving as a connection between each other until eventually, they made a true physical connection. Irken lips against lips. A kiss. Something that was practically taboo on Irk, and yet, two irkens did it almost as an act of subtle rebellion.

Eventually they separated the kiss and simply looked at each other. They were breathing heavily, neither of them having kissed anyone before. They didn't deny the fact that they did it nor did they say anything about how they enjoyed it, but they were certainly thinking it.

"Say something," Tenn said.

"What's there to be said that we aren't already thinking?" Tak asked.

"I guess that's true, but I would like to know that I'm not going crazy."

"You're not."

"Prove it."

"With pleasure," Tak said. She moved forward and kissed Tenn on the lips again for another couple of seconds before separating it again. "Change isn't so bad."

"No… it isn't."


End file.
